Hunt
by Pugnacious Peace
Summary: The full, non-chapter version. All in one page. :D How's THIS for longer? Hope you like it! :D
1. The Hunt

_**:) Okay... This should be fun. I know how people have been complaining about the length of my chapters. How they are RREEEEALLY short and all, so, I'm going to do this. This way, you can read the WHOLE thing. :)**_

_**Full Summary: Kurosaki Hisoka loses his eyesight while looking for his mother in an old abandoned 'mansion'. Ten years pass and he lives with a whole new sight; Literally. Both in life and to a whole new world. He opens up a Paranormal investigation building after training. He soon gets an offer he can't refuse and finds himself in the same place he had lost his sight. Pulling together a full team of eight, including himself, he prepares to find the answers he'd been looking for for ten full years, but gets MUCH more than he had bargained for...**_

_"Mom! Mom, where are you!?" He called, looking around. Tha large mansion creeped him out; he still couldn't remember why he had even come into this place. All he remembered was a powerful feeling of 'She's in there'. But why? Walking slowly, he stepped over an old chair tipped on it's side. He was only thirteen, and shouldn't have even been there. He turned a dark corner, and a feeling of foreboding rose over him. Biting his bottom lip slowly, he hugged his chest lightly, a cold breeze sweeping over him like a soft sheet. He wasn't paying much attention as he bit his lip harder, a drop of blood dripping from his skin. Sighing, he wiped it off with his left hand and wiped it on the dusty walls. "This place just creeps me out..." He mumbled to himself, ignoring the throbbing in his lip. Attempting to pull a door to the side, he grunted. Stuck. Of course. Sighing, he hit his head on his wrist, about ready to give up and wait outside. An annoying, drawn out, and loud 'Squeeeeeeeeaaaaaak' of the door to his left, one that was previously stuck, as it slid open. Watching in wonder, his curiosity caught him. Looking around carefully as he poked his head through the doorway, his curled his fingers around the frame. "Hello?" He said softly, gulping. His heart was racing; his hands were sweaty. His breathing was getting a bit more shallow, his bright green eyes shifting and looking around the room. _

_I should have brought a flashlight, he thought. He stepped through the door, deciding it was safe. The throbbing on his lip began again, this time, even more painful, as if somebody had just hit it. _

_Wincing, he touched his mouth. It felt so... cold... Shaking, he got a sense of sombody watching him. The dusty walls began to spin around him. He was feeling so claustrophobic. He fell backwards against the wall, holding his head as it began to pound. His vision blurred as he stared strait ahead, as if he were under water. Beginning to panic, he turned back to the door and ran towards it, only to find that it had shut itself behind him. Screaming and pulling on it, he couldn't open it. _

_"__**My eyes**__!" A woman cried, and He turned, a woman with her eyes gouged out walking towards him. _

_"No! No, get away from me! Get away!" He kept screaming it, slamming his fists against the door in full panic. He pulled again, opening it only a little and getting his foot between the wall and the door itself. Screaming, he tried to fit through. He looked back. She was right there, reaching out her hand. He froze, closing his eyes quickly. Tears were falling rapidly. He opened his eyes. _

_She was gone. The door opened fully, opening quickly as if to say, 'Sorry, I didn't even know you were there' or, 'you may leave now.' He moved out, running foeward. He ran with a slight limp, his foot slightly bruised from holding so much weight. He kept tripping over floorboards, chairs, couches, candles, even his own feet. He could see the door in the distance. It was wide open. If he could just make a bit farther, he'd be out in the open, where he could scream and people could hear him. He had it all planned; he'd burst through the opening, screaming out, 'HELP ME, SHE'S AFTER ME!' and keep running. Run unti lhe was home. Until he was safe. He could lock all doors and call his grandparents, telling them of the horror. All of it flashed through his mind in a split second, and he began to take longer strides. As he leaped to jump out the door, something - or someone - grabbed his ankle, making him lose his balance and fall on his face to the floor. He bit his lip, yelping as it split. He was being dragged away from the door. He grabbed the side frame of the same door he had been stuck between, refusing to go any further. The had only squeezed his skin, making him cry out. _

_His mouth was filling with blood from his lips and tounge. He kicked his legs to get whatever was holding him to let go. His right hand was beginning to bleed; the palm pressing against a nail. He could no longer hold on as the person pulled harder, dragging him through the halls. His skin ripped on the nail, and he screamed louder. He flipped over, unable to see exactly what was pulling him along. He was pulled into a room, and the door slammed behind his head. The eyeless woman turned to look at him, clearly listening to his terrified breathing. Her hand touched his eye and pressed in, darkness filling his mind. As he screamed, he could faintly hear the woman laughing. Beneath his yelling and her laughing, he could just barely hear a man's voice. Then another woman's. And then, a familiar voice. _

_"Kurosaki... I'm sorry..."_

_'Mama...?'_

_**Ten Years Later**_

He was lucky. He knew that. Everybody knew that. He had suvived without bleeding to death. They had found him lying on a sidewalk at 2:30 P.M. Witnesses had told him that he just fell to his knees and passed out there, though he had no memory of walking that far. He had learned not to dwell in the past, however, so he took his mind off of it. He was no longer in that hell hole, so he had nothing to worry about anymore. Not like that.

He leaned back in his chair, chewing on the back of a pencap. He set his feet against the floor and yawned, moving one arm to cover his mouth.

"Kurosaki!" A man yelled, opening his office door.

"Yes?" The twenty-three year old replied, staring at him.

"You have a phone call! Line two."

Kurosaki grabbed the phone and pressed the second worn-out button. "Kurosaki Hisoka, Paranormal investigators office, please state your name and case."

_"Kurosaki?"_

"Hijiri? How have you been? I haven't heard from you since you left the hospital."

_"I know. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you, I've just been really busy."_

"I understand. I have been too."

_"I know. I'm standing right outside the old mansion where you lost.. well..."_

Kurosaki could tell Hijiri was afraid to say it. After all, it was a touchy subject for the young man.

Hijiri was a 'roommate' of sorts while he was in the hospital. He and Hijiri had alot in common. Hijiri lost his eyesight as well. He had never really said how, though. The black-haired-twin loved to play the violin. Over the course of seven months, the time Hijiri had been in the hospital room, they became great friends. Then, Kurosaki woke up one morning and found that Hijiri had suddenly... Left. He was told later that he had been released. His eye surgery had gone perfectly and he was able to go back home.

"Yea... Why are you?"

_"I don't know. I fell asleep I think, and the next thing I know, I'm opening my eyes to see the mansion. I remember how you had described it."_

"Please... Hijiri, just get away from there. I don't know what kind of things lie within those walls."

_"You may be right... Hey, you mind if I stop by your office tomorrow morning?"_

"Not at all. Please do."

_"Thanks. Well, I'd better get back home. Talk to you later."_

"Bye."

Kurosaki hung up, a smile on his face. But soon, it dissapeared as he caught a glimpse of his gloved right hand. He bit his lip softly, clenching his fist to test the skin's sesitivity. It was a black fingerless glove, a fashion choice from the looks of it, since it made every outfit of his look even cooler, but it was also to keep the scars of his past from showing up where they don't belong. He was already socially-labelled insane because of his paranormal claims, the last thing he needed was to have scars that looked self-inflicted. He grabbed his coat from the closet, taking one last look at his desk. His family picture when he was only five years old sat at the corner. A sharp, unrelenting pain occured in his chest, causing tears to collect in his eyes. Picking it up, he touched his mother's face lightly. He still remembered that voice, the voice that said she was sorry. Was it really who he thought it was?"

Shaking his head, he put the picture back down, shutting off the lights and walking through the doorway, locking it with a key and looking up at the clock on the north wall. '9:30... I've GOT to get to bed...'

_**That night...**_

_"Stop! Please! NO!" Kurosaki writhed beneath the woman who pushed her fingers in his eye. He couldn't see her, only feel her. he kicked and hit blindly, hitting nothing at all. His body was beginning to feel cold as he found a way to get away from her. As she began to loosen up, he pulled his body up, feeling against the walls for the door. He could hear the woman screaming behind him, but he searched on for the handle. Finally finding it, he grabbed it and pulled, finding it easier than before to open it. As he ran to the other side, he began to doubt his strength. He couldn't POSSIBLY make it to the front door without being captured. It wasn't like running through his own home, where at least he KNEW where things were._

_As he thought this, a soft hand took his own injured one, and he was willed into pure sleep, falling to his knees and moaning, the blood from his eyes soaking his face. _

_**Kurosaki opened his eyes quickly, breathing roughly and shooting up in bed. He felt his face, making sure his eyes were back where they should be. He began to cry. He folded his knees against his chest and put his arms against the tops, his head between them. Why did this have to happen to him? Who was the one who had helped him? How did he even GET outside? Was he walking unconsciously?**_

_**He suddenly felt the softness of his bed gone. Lifting his head, he seen the inside of the mansion, the very place where he had lost his vision. The puddle of blood was still there. **_

_**"MY EYES!" A woman screamed, and his eyes widened, his head lifting all of the way up. She was floating above him, blood from her own eye sockets falling onto his face. Screaming, he crawled towards the door. His panic was beginning to win against his common sense. As he tried to pull the door, he was grabbed on the shoulders. Being forced to turn, he looked at the woman with the gouged out eyes with fear. She had a mask in her hand with stakes through the eyes. **_

_**"No..." He whispered, shaking his head. "No!"**_

_**She pressed it against his face, the stakes pushing inside his eyes-**_

Kurosaki screamed, shooting up off of his mattress. He looked around his room and turned on the overhead light, biting his lip. Looking at the clock, he wiped his forehead. '2:30 in the morning... About time to go to work, anyway...' He brushed his hair, teeth, took a shower, got dressed, got in his car, then drove to his office. To his surprise, Hijiri was there, a cigarette in his lips. He looked over at Kurosaki and grinned.

"Uh... Hey. I didn't expect you this early..." Kurosaki whispered, sighing lightly.

"Oh, I know, I just... I was actually just walking by and I noticed you were coming, so I stopped and waited. I hope you don't have anything important to do..."

"Well... i could always use help with filing cases and answering phones..." Kurosaki smiled. He trusted Hijiri; No reason why he shouldn't.

Right?

"Really!? That's great! I don't have anywhere to go, really, so I'd love to help you out. We've got ALOT of catching up to do!" And with that, Kurosaki unlocked the door, exited to start the new day.

_**12:30 P.M**_

Hijiri spun in the chair, looking up at the ceiling while Kurosaki munched on his salad. "Hijiri, you know you can go get lunch. Just across the street, they have this GREAT restaraunt. Go ahead-"

"No, it's fine. I'm not hungry." Hijiri took another good look at his friend's huge office. "This is where you work EVERY day?"

"Yeah. I suppose it's not that bad. It is my building, after all. I invested alot of daddy's leftover money from his will that he left from me. What do you think?" He'd asked that before, but Hijiri had not answered. He figured that the black haired boy had just fallen asleep or just wasn't paying attention.

"I love it. I'd love to work here ALL the time, but I don't think you'd like that."

"Are you kidding!? You could join the investigation Team with me. I can show you the ropes of ghost hunting." As he said this, his phone on the desk rang. "Ah.. Hold that thought."

His cheery tone dissapeared and turned dead serious as he answered. "Kurosaki Hisoka, Paranormal investigators office, please state your name and case."

He pulled a notebook and pen from the corner of a calender on the desktop and wrote things down. "Ma'am, I can't understand you. Please, calm down or you can come in to the office. Alright.. uh-huh... Okay. I'll see you an hour. Good-bye." He hung up, sighing.

"What was that about?"

"I have no idea. She said something about 'death', but I couldn't understand her. She must've seen something terrible, she sounded so panicked..." He thought back to his incident, then to his dream. He could relate to her. Not knowing where to go, where to turn, who to turn to... That's what he was there for. Not only did he want to find answers to what had attacked them and to understand, he also wanted to protect others from the same fate, if not worse. Hijiri seemed to understand this, his eyes softening.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No, it's fine. Don't worry. I may need your help in calming her down. Can you do that?"

"Of course!"

An hour and a half later, a knock at the door shocked both Kurosaki and Hijiri out of their comfortable silence.

"Kurosaki... Miss Aname is here..."

"Thank you..."

A woman, around thirty five, walked in, her face red and teary. She looked pale. Her hair was a mess, and her hands were shaky as she closed the door behind her.

"Please, sit..."

Hijiri quickly stood and pulled a chair out for her. She muttered a small thank you and clutched her purse close to her. She sat down and Hijiri offered to take her purse. She nodded gratefully and handed it to him. He set it by his chair and sat back.

"I..." She started in a trembling voice. "I didn't know where else to turn..." She started to cry again, and Kurosaki sighed.

"It's alright."

"Nobody would believe me... but since you have history with the place, I knew you would..."

Both he and Hijiri were snapped into attention, both eyes wide.

"What...?" Kurosaki whispered.

"Well.. The house you nearly lost your life in..."

Kurosaki stood quickly. "I hope you're not messing with me, because it is not funny..."

"No.. I wish I was, but I am not, Kurosaki..." She began to cry again, and Kurosaki looked down. "Please.. Help me.. What's going on?"

"I... I don't know." He stated, looking away and towards Hijiri, who sighed.

"Do you think you could investigate? There is just too many things going on in that stupid house for me to handle... Please!"

"I..." He sighed. On one hand, he didn't want to take it. What if this time, he died? What if what little team he pulled together died? What then? But on the other, he wanted to go. He needed the answers. What exactly did he see? Is his mother really in there? How did he even ESCAPE?

"Let me make a few calls. If I can pull together a team of eight by the end of the week, We will investigate. But if not.. You'll have to find somebody else."

"Thank you!" The woman said, grabbing Kurosaki's gloved hand.

"You're welcome..."

Hijiri let her have her purse back, Kurosaki handed her a small container filled with tissues, and she was on her way.

"Are you really going to go back?" Hijiri asked with a frightened tone, fearing his friend's safety.

"Yes. And if you want, you can come along."

"I.. I'd love to."

"Alright. You just HAVE to be careful in that place, if you even go in."

"I will!"

9:30 P.M

"You can? Alright, that's GREAT! Okay. See you there. Thank you, you've been a great help...!" With that, Kurosaki hung up his cellphone.

"Well?" Hijiri asked, looking at his friend, who smiled lightly, but nervously.

"We've got a team."

"Really? What are their names?"

"Well, there's me, you, and then there's a few of my friends. Seiichiro Tatsumi, Yukata Watari, Kazutaka Muraki, Oriya Mibu, and Hajime Terazuma."

"But.. That's only seven..." Hijiri whispered, counting the names in his head.

"Yes, I know. Tatsumi said he had a friend that may be interested. He'll get back to me. If not, I guess we just won't do it until we get them." Kurosaki sighed. Secretly, a side of him hoped they wouldn't get the eighth person. It was HIGHLY dangerous. But, he did warn everybody, so they were joining at their own risk. His phone began to vibrate in his hand. Looking at the caller ID, his breath catching in his throat. "It's Tatsumi."

He picked up, and he heard Tatsumi's voice immeadiately. "Kurosaki! He's agreed. He'll be with us on Sunday."

"Good. Thanks, Tatsumi. You did warn him, right?"

"Yeah. First thing I did. He's thrilled to even meet you. He says that he read about you in the paper when word caught of your incident!"

"Oh... That's.. nice... Well, thanks Tatsumi. Bye."

Hijiri smiled. "Well?"

"He's in."

_**Sunday: 12:30 P.M.**_

The seven in the group stood in front of the house. Kurosaki looked up, fear bunching up in his stomach. _'It's now or never. Suck it up, you big baby!' _Looking around, he counted the people. "Uh.. Where's the eighth, Tatsumi?"

"I'm right here!" A man said, coming from behind several bushes. "Sorry I'm late. I had to grab my water. I can't go ANYWHERE without water and gum. Speaking of gum, anybody want some?" The brunette man smiled and pulled out several sticks of gum.

Kurosaki nodded and took a peice as the man walked by him. The brunette suddenly stopped. "You're Kurosaki... Aren't you?"

"Y...Yes. Yes I am. And you must be Asato Tsuzuki. Nice to finally meet you." They shook hands.

Looking up at the house, Kurosaki could tell that Tsuzuki was shocked by it's size.

Kurosaki sighed and pulled out his camera. "Alright. Let's get this over with." He walked towards the house and opened the door, holding his breath and holding his eyes shut with an almost unbearable exitement and horrified mix. The house felt as if it was just an old abandoned building; Nothing freaky about that.

Until he got to the same hallway he had been dragged through. The sevon other walked behind him, looking around with flashlights. "Wow..." Hijiri whispered behind him, looking at an old closet. "This place is MESSY! I'd hate to see their caretaker.."

Several chuckles echoed in the empty hall, none of them coming from Kurosaki, who was too busy looking at the door. The woman was staring back at him, the blind woman who had nearly made him blind. His face was white, his body shaking. She said nothing. She didn't move. She didn't smile. She only looked on, an empty stare. Well, that went without saying since she had no eyes to stare with...

"Guys... Let's go the other way.." Kurosaki whispered, backing up.

"What!? Why! This room looks promissing! Maybe we could find a dead body!" Terazuma said, laughing. Tsuzuki, however, didn't find it funny and smacked his chest.

"If he doesn't want to go in, who are we to tell him he has to? A different team can just go in tonight, no big deal!"

Terazuma looked down. "Whatever. The team turned back.

As Kurosaki looked behind him one last time to look at the door, and it was wide open. Temptation took over, and he stepped closer.

"Kurosaki!" Tsuzuki yelled, grabbing his arm. "You coming?"

Kurosaki looked back at the door, which was beginning to shut.

"Y...Yeah... Coming..." He turned and walked with them, almost afraid to look back.

He could feel the woman listening to his footsteps as they faded away, and feel several other things staring at his back.

_'This was a mistake... I should never have come here... This may just be my resting place for all eternity...'_

_**2:30 P.M**_

Kurosaki sighed, sitting in the old, dusty, blood-covered chair. He knew it was dry; why worry about getting it on his clothes? Hijiri was next to him, while Tsuzuki sat on the other side, the three of them watching the rest of the boys look for any other doors.

"I don't see anything..." Tatsumi said, sighing. "I could have sworn there was another door, but all I see is a bunch of crap piled against the walls."

"Careful," Terazuma started, laughing slightly. "You wouldn't want to anger the blind lady."

Kurosaki mustered up a laugh. "Yes, well, she'll have to find her eyes first."

Hijiri also laughed at that one, glad his friend could finally make jokes about the accident. But he knew for a fact that Kurosaki was nervous. Scared, even, which was rare for him. His face was always strong in every picture he had seen of him before he caught back up. So unafraid.. Almost scary, he was so serious. But now, that perfect calmness had been broken by this... this house. He had to admit, it gave him the creeps too. The constant moaning and groaning of the foundation. The silence being broken to what sounded like footsteps running in front of them...

He shuddered. Sometimes, he even felt like he could feel somone watching him. He looked back to his left and Kurosaki was gone. All he seen was Tsuzuki standing up.

"Coming, Hijiri?" Tsuzuki asked, smiling sweetly.

'Wow.. He's got gorgeous eyes...' Hijiri found himself jealous. Kurosaki was this man's idol, and the man didn't even realize it!

"Yea, I'm coming." He said, smiling lightly and standing to his full height. As they were walking down the halls behind the group, they began to talk.

"So... How do you know Kurosaki? Where did you meet him?" Tsuzuki asked, staring at Hijiri next to him.

"At the hospital. Truth is, I lost my sight too. But it was natural."

"Oh..."

They were silent for a moment, when Hijiri decided to ask a question that had been plaguing him since they got there. "Why are you so interested in Kurosaki?" He waved his flashlight around, looking for the team. His eyes widened.

_They weren't there. Neither was Tsuzuki. Dead bodies lay in a complete mess on the floor in front of him, behind him, and all around him. A scream echoed behind him, yelling, "Hijiri!"_

_He turned, and a woman with a bloodstained Kimono slammed into him, grabbing his shoulders. "You must run, Hijiri! Run! You will be killed! Go!" Then, he pushed him towards a wall and ran away. Once she dissappeared into the darkness, Hijiri sank against the floor, his eyes wide. But as he went to stand again, a woman with bleeding eyes floated closer, towards the woman who had warned him. He nearly stopped breathing as she passed. 'If she's blind like Kurosaki said, she won't see me, but she'll HEAR me.. I've got to stay calm...' _

_But his hope was crushed when his foot slipped, kicking a rock her way. The woman slowly turned, looking directly at him. _

_"No..." He whispered, terrified at the gaze she gave him. "Get away..." He whispered, as she floated closer to him. But the woman moved on, apparently not interested. Breathing a sigh of relief, he began to stand, only to find that he couldn't even get up. As he looked down, he felt several hands around his chest. "What the...?"_

_The hands tightened, beginning to pull him through the wall. Or what he had thought was a wall. He found it was a closet, go figure."No!" He yelled, this time with more anger than fear. But his fear returned as his body was beginning to go into the darkness."Somebody help me!" It was completely dark now. He could hear moans from several people, their hands touching him in various places. His legs, his theighs, his hips, his stomach, his chest, and even his face and neck were now getting grabbed. _

_"NOO!"_

_"_NOOO!" The team turned, and they just barely caught Hijiri falling onto the floor, moaning. Scratches were beginning to appear on his body, and Tsuzuki gasped.

"Oh my god!" He cried, touching Hijiri's body. "Hijiri! Open your eyes!"

Kurosaki moved through the team, running over to his friend. "Hijiri! Grab my hand if you can hear me!" Hijiri touched Kurosaki's hand, twitching. His eyes were tearing up, even more scratches appearing on him.

"Kurosaki... I seen her... The... The blind lady..."

Kurosaki almost dropped him, but instead, he held on tighter. "What? Where?"

"I don't know, I was... somewhere else... I don't understand it myself... But... Hands... there were hands..." He whispered it softly, crying. "They were pulling me into some kind of closet..."

Tarezuma mumbled in the background, "How much you wanna bet he's going to have a fear of the dark once this is over?"

"I think we all will..." Watari whispered.

Anger burned in Kurosaki's veins, and he stood. "You think this is so funny, don't you!" He shouted, his voice getting louder than Hijiri had even heard it. "Then I dare you! Strike me! I'm not afraid of you! You hurt my friends, you might as well go for me!" Nothing happened.

Tsuzuki watched in wonder. '_How can he be so brave? He nearly lost his life here...' _He looked at Hijiri, and it was suddenly clear. '_He would rather die than let his friends die...' _his eyes softened. _'I hope one day... He'll care for me that much...'_

"Come on! Coward! Quit hiding like a wuss and come out here! ATTACK ME!"

Nothing.

Tsuzuki grabbed Kurosaki's arm. "Come on. Let's just help Hijiri and keep moving..."

"Yeah.. I guess we should." Kurosaki picked Hijiri up. "Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?"

"It doesn't matter..."

"Alright then." He turned and put Hijiri on his back.

"Aren't I heavy...?"

"Not at all." he whispered back, smiling.

_**4:30 P.M**_

Kurosaki set Hijiri down on a chair. "You okay?"

"Yea... I guess I'm alright..." He winced at the scars, looking down at his arms, where rope marks were beginning to appear. "What the hell?" He whispered, and Kurosaki looked closer. "You didn't say anything about ropes..."

"Because there weren't any..."

"Hey guys!" Tarezuma shouted, holding up his hand. "Look at this!" He held up a red notebook. "It says here that the owner of this notebook had rope marks on her body... This this has anything to do with it?"

Tatsumi and Watari sighed. Kazutaka looked over, taking another notebook from another shelf. "And this one.. It says that a woman with rope marks on her body was found dead..."

They all looked at Hijiri with a gasp, Hijiri himself freezing. The temperature began to rapidly drop, and Kurosaki began to sharpen his senses.

"Guys, let's keep moving."

_**5:00 P.M**_

Hijiri walked beside Tsuzuki, who helped him walk by holding the younger boy's arms around his shoulders. As they turned a corner to a new hallway, Hijiri screamed. Kurosaki, already nervous enough just being there, turned sharply, pointing the flashlight at the boy.

"Are you alright? Did you fall? Did you see something?"

"This is the hallway that I seen before...!"

Kurosaki looked up. It did look familiar.. But where had he seen it? "Alright, guys, be on your guard. Don't let ANYTHING touch you without me knowing. Got it?" When he turned, Tarezuma let him pass, ducking slightly when he did. But as Tsuzuki passed with Hijiri, he grabbed the Brunette's ankle.

"AHHH!" Tsuzuki screamed, tripping and falling, catching Hijiri before the raven-haired boy hist his head.

Tarezuma laughed, standing up. "You should have seen your face!"

Kurosaki whipped around to glare at the man before walking over. "This is certainly NOT the place nor time to be messing around. What if it was YOU who got grabbed? Think of it that way, and maybe you'll be a bit more considerate. Move." Kurosaki pushed the man towards the group, who laughed slightly.

"Nice one. You pissed him off. Good job!" Kazutaka whispered, his platinum blond hair swishing as he looked up, shining his flashlight to the ceiling. His eyes opened wide and he fell backwards, gasping for breath. He dropped the flashlight.

"Kazutaka!" Kurosaki yelled, helping Tsuzuki up before running to help the doctor. "What happened? Did he do the same to you?"

"No, unless he crawled to the ceiling in two seconds!" He whispered.

The emerald-eyed boy pointed the flashlight up, but seen nothing. "What? There's nothing there..."

"But.. there was a body...! It's arm was hanging... It-"

"Relax. You're probably just seeing things. I know I have been for quite a while."

"Oh, I'm seeing things, but I don't think they are hallucinations..." He mumbled, standing fully.

The group walked slowly, letting Tsuzuki and Hijiri catch up.

"Man... This place creeps me out..." Tsuzuki whispered, looking down at Hijiri. His eyes widened. "Oh my.. Kurosaki!"

"What?"

"He's..."

Hijiri's eyes were closed, his face pale. He moaned lightly, another ropemark appearing on his neck. He screamed, using his hands to do what seemed like choke himself.

"Hijiri!" Kurosaki screamed, grabbing at his hands. "Stop! Hijiri! Calm down! You're okay!"

Tarezuma, Watari, Tatsumi, Oriya, and Muraki turned, shining thier flashlights at them.

Behind the three boys, a group of people in tattered, bloody robes were beginning to walk closer. "Holy- GUYS! RUN!" Oriya screamed.

The ghosts were gone.

Kurosaki looked up. "What!?" He growled. He was about ready to tell everybody to get the hell out and tell the woman to just get somebody ELSE.

"N...Nothing..." He whispered, gulping.

"Hijiri..." Tsuzuki whispered, sighing. "It's alright... Come on... Relax..."

"Just leave me here... Please... That's what they want..."

"Who?"

"The spirits..."

"No. You're coming with us, okay? We are NOT leaving you here!"

Tsuzuki began to drag Hijiri along, against the boys wishes, but he ignored all insults, threats, and requests.

_**9:30 P.M**_

Hijiri coughed. His ankles were now also showing rope marks. The eight people sat down, staring. Kurosaki stared outside, sitting on a deck. "What the hell do you guys want? Why are you doing this? I know it's you, not the house..." He spoke loudly, and Tsuzuki turned to look at him.

"Kurosaki?" He said, getting on his knees and crawling closer.

The blond turned, his eyes filled with tears. The scars in his eyes were beginning to get even more visible. "Yeah?"

"How...How did you get your vision back...?"

"I don't know... Tsuzuki, honestly, I have no idea about anything anymore..." He broke down, crying silently in his wrists. "I just... I don't understand. I feel... I feel like it's me they are after, but I don't understand why...!"

"Kurosaki..."

"Please... I'm sick of the name 'Kurosaki'. Call me Hisoka... Please... 'Kurosaki' Is gone. He's been gone. A new man has been born... but I'm not sure if I like him..."

Tsuzuki felt like crying himself. "Hisoka... Come here..." He took the boy into his arms and held him close. "It's alright... Things will work out, in the end... Everything happens for a reason. You just have to trust yourself..."

The boy began to cry harder, slamming his fist in Tsuzuki's chest. Pictures of his mother ran through his head. He remembered her voice, her arms around him... Why did she just suddenly get up and leave? Why did she have to die, if she even was dead?

Of course, if she wasn't, then why in the hell hadn't she come home?

He began to pull away, sniffing and wiping his eyes. "Thanks.. I...I needed that... I haven't cried like that in years..."

Tsuzuki smiled and wiped the very last tear from Hisoka's cheek. "I know... everybody needs to cry...But you also have to understand that everybody dies."

"How did you...?"

"I just do... I know how it feels to lose someone very close to you. I lost my father in a fire. I know what it's like to feel alone and lost... So if you need to talk about it, I'm here, don't you worry..."

Even though Hisoka had just met this man, he seemed so... attached _**(SP? Sorry, this thing doesn't have a spell check... T-T) **_to him. He smiled. He liked that feeling. He knew he could count on him. He looked down at his hand, the one with a glove over it. He felt something in the scar and wetness. He pulled the glove off, and he seen that the scar had reopened. _'Why hadn't I even felt it happen!?' _he growled, and Tsuzuki stared at him with a puzzled look.

"What's wrong?"

Hisoka blinked and seen that nothing was wrong. His scar was not open, and he was touching only the mark of the past. But in his opposite hand, a jewel of some kind lay in his palm with the glove. "N...Nothing... I just... My hand started to hurt..." He slipped the glove back onto his hand and put the jewel into his back pocket.

A scream echoed inside, and he jumped, standing instantly and grabbing Tsuzuki's arm. The brunette followed him, rushing to keep up with him.

Hijiri was thrashing, fighting against a force unseen by everybody else.

Except for Hisoka himself and Hijiri. The two seen the same things; three men holding him down and tying ropes around his body, preparing to drag him away.

"Let him go!" Hisoka shouted, rushing forward. One man looked up at him, and Hisoka felt his hand beginning to hurt. He winced, and he felt two things holding onto his legs. "Let go of me! HIJIRI!" He cried out, slamming onto the ground.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group stared with wide eyes, all of them thinking the two were insane.

"And he said I was hallucinating..." Kazutaka whispered.

Hisoka tried to crawl towards his friend, kicking his legs against the hands. He reached out his hands before hearing a loud 'CRACK!'. Everybody else heard it as well, and they all stared at Hijiri, whose neck had broken, a result of one of the ghost-men pulling hard on the rope.

"HIJIRI!" Hisoka yelled, crying. The forces dissappeared, and he rushed to Hijiri's side. Blood was coming from the boy's underside, and he flipped him over.

The bottom of his legs, his shoulders, and his arms were ripped open, the effect of the ropes pulling at the skin and Joints.

"Oh god..." Hisoka whispered, crying over his friend's body. "That's it. Let's get out of here, guys! I can't stand this!"

Doors slammed all around the house, loud enough for them to hear all the way up to the third floor. Hisoka, somehow, knew that all of them were the ways out of the house.

"Yeeeeaaaahh..." Tarezuma said, sighing. "Easier said than done, Kurosaki..."

_**11:30 P.M**_

Hisoka sniffed as he dropped Hijiri's body beneath a tree outside. The back yard was fenced in, too high to climb. The entire group was on their knees, eyes closed and strait-faced. Tarezuma was even affected, his eyes brimming with tears.

Tsuzuki stood next to Hisoka, who wouldn't even look up from his friend's body. A tear dripped onto Hijiri's pale face, slowly trickling to ther wet soil beneath him.

"I'm not afraid of you..." He whispered, looking up.

_The blind woman stood there, and he knew nobody else could see her. His hair was matted against his forehead, and he stood slowly. He knew the air was beginning to get tense, as Tsuzuki stiffened. The five behind them looked up slowly._

_"Two sacrifices..." The woman moaned, and Hisoka's eyes narrowed. _

_"So you need two more of my friends. Forget it. You'll have to take us by force, and I'll tell you it won't be easy."_

_"Your fear is gone." The woman dissappeared, then reappeared behind him. He turned quickly, making sure he could see her. _

_"You took my best friend. You think I would be afraid instead of angry?"_

_"You should be..." A man said, and Hisoka turned sharply. _

_"We'll take the boy in the middle, between the long-haired boy and the silver-haired one."_

_"Tarezuma? No!"_

_"Yes... Boy, you're too late. Nobody can hear us. They don't know what's going on..."_

_"You can't take Tarezuma! I won't let you!"_

_"There's nothing you can do..."_

_The blind woman was already beginning to walk towards the boy, feeling her way through the air. When she touched Tarezuma's head, the boy began to scream in pain. Hisoka turned, eyes wide. "No..."_

_Tarezuma fell backwards. The woman began to pull his eyes out, the same way she had taken Hisoka's own. "NO!"_

"NOO!" Hisoka bolted upwards from the ground. The group was watching him from above, Tsuzuki's hand set on his forehead.

"Are you alright?"

"Where's Tarezuma?"

Oriya looked down. "Well... Actually... Shortly after you fainted, we looked back to where he was when we noticed he didn't come up, and he was gone...All that was there was blood... We're so sorry, Kurosaki!"

"Unavoidable..." Hisoka whispered, sitting up. "Come on. We have to find him before it's too late-"

"AHH!" A figure fell in front of them, and the entire group screamed out, falling back. Tsuzuki held his chest, breathing hard.

"Tarezuma!" Hisoka crawled foreward. When he pulled Tarezuma closer and turned him over, he seen what he hoped he wouldn't have to.

The man's eyes were gouged out, his limbs broken. His body held rope marks.

"What the hell!" Oriya growled, covering his face. "Everybody's dying!" He whispered several things under his breath before leaning against Kazutaka, who held him tightly. Watari was already snuggling into Tatsumi's chest, hiding from whatever could have been watching him.

"It's your fault, Kurosaki! If you hadn't told us to come here, Hijiri and Tarezuma wouldn't have died!" Oriya shouted, standing. He grabbed Hisoka by the shirt and pulled him up. "What do you have to say for yourself!"

"Please, I warned you that this was dangerous. I warned both of them..." But he knew that Oriya was right... it was his fault. He shouldn't have taken the case. It was his damned interest in finding the answers to his own problems that clouded his common sense.

"Oriya..." Kazutaka whispered, touching his arm. "Relax, he couldn't possibly have known this would have happened."

"No... He's right..." Hisoka whispered, crying softly and holding his hands over his eyes. "I did know this would happen... i just didn't want to believe it...!"

Tsuzuki grabbed Hisoka's body, pulling him closer.

"That's enough!" Tatsumi yelled from behind them. "Leave the poor kid alone, he's been through enough. We just have to stay calm now and get out as fast as we can."

"Oh, you've ALWAYS been the practical one!" Oriya cried, his eyes beginning to narrow into slits. "Always optomistic! Well what would you do if it was Watari who died!?"

Watari gasped. He bit his lip. "He certainly wouldn't be yelling at the guy who just wants answers, that's for sure! You have no right to stand there and throw accusations! We're the ones who took it in the first place! We could have turned him down, but we wanted the exitement and to help our friend!"

Oriya silenced at the blond's screams, looking at Kazutaka. Hisoka looked up at the sky, towards the moon.

Tsuzuki wouldn't let go of the boy. But it was comforting to have someone hold him and not want to kill him, so he didn't protest.

"Come on." Tatsumi whispered, walking inside. Everybody followed him, Hisoka walking up the deck and inside last.

_**12:00m**_

Hisoka began to fall asleep. He began to fade in and out, his vision blurring as he tried yet another door. Tsuzuki shook him lightly, smiling softly and touchig his face.

Hisoka smiled back, grateful. They couldn't afford to sleep. Not in this place.

The group had no choice but to split up. They weren't too far away, but they were some distance away.

As Hisoka began to drift away, farther into sleep than Tsuzuki could reach him, he was jolted by the loud screams of Tatsumi.

He ran through the halls towards them, tears in his eyes. He carried Watari in his arms, holding him close.

"Kurosaki!"

"What is it?"

"It's Watari... He has rope marks..."

Hisoka looked down at Watari, who moaned. It sounded more like a gurgle, as if somebody was squeezing his windpipe. Rope marks were on his neck and wrist.

"Watari, why didn't you tell any of us...?"

"I...I didn't want to worry you, not with the kid-"

"But we might have been able to find a way to help you!"

Watari looked away. "I seen something... When Terazuma died..."

Hisoka looked at him, waiting for the man to continue. "Like?" He said, watching carefully.

"Well... He looked kind of like you, only skinier... and... a bit more evil..."

Tsuzuki looked down. "I...I seen it too... I didn't want to say anything, I thought that maybe it was just you the way the moon was shining off of your body... I'm sorry, I should have said something. I blame only myself..."

"No. Nobody is to blame. Not now, anyway." Hisoka whispered, standing up. "Where did you see it?"

"Him, Hisoka. It's a boy."

"As far as I'm concerned, it's neither a boy nor a girl. It's an it, plain and simple. Now where did you see it?"

"Well... Right where you were..." Watari laughed slightly, Tsuzuki joining in with the nervousness.

"Strange, huh?"

"Yeah, a mountain of strangeness... Come on, Let's find Oriya and Muraki and join back together, I've got a bad feeling about tonight..."

_**About twenty minutes later**_

Hisoka sneezed loudly after falling to his side, knocking thousands and thousands of dust particles from the couch and the shelves around it.

Tsuzuki sighed, holding his chin. "Where could they be? Did you say that the two were a bit.. reluctant to leave each other?"

"Yeah. Muraki and Oriya are like this," Hisoka crossed his fingers together as soon as his sneezing attack was through. "And I want to find them before they end up like this." He put the tops of his fingers down, symbolizing headlessness.

Tsuzuki winced. "I'm not sure that would happen, Hisoka. I mean, when you look at it from a logical point of view, maybe they found a way out and are getting help. Or maybe they just got lost. Or maybe..."

"Or maybe they're DEAD!" Hisoka could feel the eyes on him again, watching him from every side of the room, staring through him as if with X-ray vision. It was making him even more nervous than he really needed to be, so of course, his body was beginning to shake, and his patience was wearing thin. As Tsuzuki shrank back and tried to move away, Hisoka sighed and took his hand. ''Sorry... I'm just... nervous...''

"It's fine.. Don't worry about it." Tsuzuki gave a soft smile and stared at Hisoka's face. He was entranced by the young man's emerald eyes, the strength they held, even when they'd seen more than enough tragedy. His eye caught the image of something - or someone- floating behind Hisoka, rushing past them with a small blur. "What the...?" As he whispered this, he could feel Hisoka's body becoming limp. He caught the boy as he fell to the ground, his eyes closed. Tsuzuki turned, feeling a presense behind him, and seen both Muraki and Oriya, stripped down. Literally. Their skin was practically peeled off, the blood no longer dripping. He silently wondered how they could have missed something like that.

Unless they weren't there when they came in. The thought made him shudder. That didn't make sense.

Did it?

Then again, nothing made sense in this place.

First off; Why lay dorment so long, and start doing this the moment Hisoka walked in? Or was it not dormant, and was doing this even before Hisoka came in. If so, then why? How? When? He felt sick as he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach with his strong arms. Hisoka fell with a thud on the floor, and his body didn't move. He felt as if he'd drank a jar filled with pickle and lemon juice without any water or anything afterward. _**(A/N I have done that. Ugh, talk about feeling crappy. XP) **_He heaved, throwing up onto the floor. The smell of blood was beginning to get more and more apparent, and the more it did, the more he heaved.

"Oh just kill me..." He whispered, crying. He wished he hadn't taken this case. He wished he hadn't felt the need to meed Hisoka.

_'But I did, and he's counting on me not to let him down_.' With that thought crossing his mind, he picked up the blond and stumbled out of the room, dizziness creeping up over him. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was tired. He was sick. As he entered the hall, his legs gave out on him, and he fell foreward, his eyes closing. 'I'm so.. Tired... only for a few minutes, then I'll wake up...'

_Tsuzuki woke up to a soft push. When he opened his eyes, a little girl was sitting in front of him on her knees, her fingers drumming her thighs. _

_"Be careful..." She whispered, reaching out her arm. It also had ropemarks, all over the wrist. Tsuzuki, terrified, put his hand over his lips. She smiled, put her fingers to her own lips, copying his movement. "The blood will continue to fall... Please... Help my mother..." _

_Her smile faded, and a woman with blood coming from empty eye sockets ran closer. _

_"No!" The little girl cried, and both of them dissapeared._

"Tsuzuki! Tsuzuki, wake up! TSUZUKI!" Hisoka was shaking the brunette's body. Tatsumi and Watari stood over him, Watari, gasping for breath, his eyes slowly shutting before snapping open once more.

When Tsuzuki's eyes came open, the three other men let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness..." Tatsumi said, a hand over his chest. Watari was beginning to lose strength in his legs, falling to the ground in an instant. His neck was now in a real rope, and he began to choke.

"What the...?"

Hisoka could see the five men pulling on each rope, two around Watari's arms, two around his legs, and one around his neck. He didn't stuggle. He was probably much to weak to fight. His eyes rolled as he let out one last cough, then was let lose, his body limp and inactive.

Hisoka only watched. Something in Watari's eyes told him to stay put, not to help him.

Tatsumi was crying. Tsuzuki was shocked.

_'I'm sorry, Watari... I should never have come here... Please... tell mom I love her, when you see her in heaven...'_

Hisoka sat on his knees, calculating his chances of getting out of this hell hole alive. He missed the silence before, with all of city's noise, but now, he missed all of the noise. This silence was NOT something he wanted. It was as if he was in one of those Tomb Raider games. You just don't know when Lara would make a sarcastic comment, if something would run around the corner and attack, or if you would make it out of the level.

Only here, he didn't have any weapons to fight back with.

He looked to his right, where Tatsumi hugged his knees and cried against the wall. Tsuzuki was comforting him, smiling softly.

Hisoka suddenly felt jealous. Shaking his head, he tore away from the feeling. What would he have to be jealous about? Nothing. Tsuzuki was only hugging somebody else instead of him, and comforting him by whispering in his ear, kissing his head softly through the hair.

...Oh...

Hisoka blushed, covering it up quickly as he felt the heat. _'Oh, jeez. I AM jealous... But why? I can't be in love with him, that would be sick...' _But as he played the images of himself and Tsuzuki together, it began to look... right.

Tsuzuki suddenly laughed.

"What?" Hisoka whispered, looking up.

"You're blushing..."

The blond looked away, facing towards the wall. "Am not..." He denied, leaning back against the wall. He was tired, but there was no way he could sleep now.

He closed his eyes softly, feeling tears burning his eyes. His mother was still in his mind, her eyes peering at him. He smiled lightly, feeling her arms around him.

_"Let go, Kurosaki... Just let yourself float free..."_

He felt warmth around his body, like sunshine. It felt... good. He felt her arms squeeze around him gently, picking up his body. He smiled softly and set his head into her chest. "Okay, mommy..." He said, in a very quiet, dying voice. His heart was beginning to slow.

"HISOKA!"

Hisoka was snapped back into attention, his heart rate speeding up again. His eyes opened, and a black shadow suddenly faded.

"Are you alright!?" Tatsumi yelled, crawling over and hugging him. "Oh, I've never felt so worried about you... You weren't responding to anything we were asking, and when we looked over at you, we seen this... thing trying to squeeze you."

He felt childish for saying what he had said. _'okay, mommy'_ Who was he fooling? He was no longer five.

Tsuzuki smiled and hugged him. "You alright? You really worried us..."

"I'm fine." Hisoka lied, fighting tears. A part of him had deeply wanted his mother to take him away. Rip his soul from his body painlessly and let him die. But the other part knew that Tatsumi and Tsuzuki needed him. Hisoka was the only one that had even been in the house, even though it wasn't too far.

Sighing, he stood. "Come on..."

_**Two hours later**_

Hisoka opened a door slowly. Tsuzuki followed him on one side.

"Okay... This is creepy..." He whispered, looking up at the blood-stained ceiling.

"No joke..." Hisoka mumbled, looking back to where Tatsumi was.

"What about you, Tatsumi, what do you-"

"...Where did Tatsumi go...?"

"He was right behind me a minute ago..." Tsuzuki looked around.

A loud scream peirced ther air ahead of them, and Tatsumi was pressed against metal cages on the other side of the room. Blood dripped from his body, and Hisoka screamed as well.

"Tatsumi!" He ran forward, suddenly being stopped by a powerful shove. He fell backwards, hitting his head against the brick wall. He began to get dizzy, but he could see enough to notice a black shadow walking quickly towards a petrified Tsuzuki.

"No!" Hisoka screamed, jumping up and towards the shadow, ignoring the pounding in the back of his head. Grabbing Tsuzuki's hand, he bravely blocked the older man. "Leave him alone!"

The spirit suddenly faded, but Tatsumi, behind the bars, fell dead to the ground, his body a bleeding heap of skin.

Hisoka felt a burning in his side, but it soon faded. He fell to his knees, tears finally able to fall from his eyes. "Tatsumi-san..."

Tsuzuki fell as well, relief in his eyes. But sadness soon clouded them as he caught a glimpse of Tatsumi's body. "Oh, god..." He began to cry for the first time since Hijiri had died. He buried his face in his palms.

A door opening made Tsuzuki snap back and look at Hisoka, who had found a trap door.

"Neh?" He shrugged, reaching out his arm for Tsuzuki. The brunette took his hand, aggreeing to go with him.

WIth one last look at Tatsumi, he thought it best to run before the spirit came back for more.

Hisoka crawled foreward. The passage was NOT very comfortable to be in. The smell of rotting bodies in the closed-up space made him shudder. The space wasn't big enough for Hisoka or Tsuzuki to walk through. In fact, the ceiling, while he was crawling, was rubbing against his back.

"You okay, Tsuzuki?" Hisoka grunted, and Tsuzuki nodded softly.

"Yea. I'm alright. You?"

"Well, considering I'm crawling in a tiny passage, most of my friends are dead, and I smell dead people, I'm good."

Tsuzuki let out a small chuckle. It stopped, however, when part of the wall behind them broke. "Holy-!" He cried, looking back.

"Ah... Let's get out of here, I see a light."

"Don't go into the light, Hisoka." Tsuzuki mumbled. Hisoka stopped, turned, gave him a glare, and turned back and crawled towards the light. As he got closer, he felt the ceiling rise off his back.

"The passage is getting taller. Come on, we must be close to a door or something." He began to get more upright as he went on, until finally, he was able to walk normally, only stooping over a little to avoid hitting his head. Tsuzuki looked around, and he sighed softly.

"What?" Hisoka asked, turning.

"I've got something to say..."

"Could it wait?"

"No, It can't..."

Hisoka stopped with a roll of his eyes. He turned around, facing the brunette. "Yes?"

"I'm kinda glad we came to this place."

Hisoka stared at him, then began to laugh. "Oh, thanks for the joke. I feel better now."

"No, I'm serious. I would never have met you."

"Oh, I'm sure you would have."

"No... I wouldn't. See, I was about to board a plane and move to America. But then I got the call from Tatsumi not fifteen minutes before my plane took off. If I hadn't gotten that call, I wouldn't have met you."

"Yeah. Well I don't see how you could be glad we're here."

"Well... So I could do this..." Tsuzuki got closer, carefully setting his lips on Hisoka's cheek, then moving towards his mouth.

Hisoka leaned against the man, shocked beyond reason. His eyes were wide.

When Tsuzuki pulled away, he smiled. "You have always been my Idol. And, to tell the truth, my crush. The chance to meet you was just WAY too powerful."

Hisoka smiled brightly, unable to hide his exitement.

"We'd better get out of here, or we might end up like the others."

"Good idea..." Hisoka laughed and opened a trap door above him, pushing it open. After hearing the slam of it hitting the floor, he climbed into the next room, turning back to help Tsuzuki out of the passageway.

As Tsuzuki extended his hand, Hisoka noticed something on his own wrist. After helping Tsuzuki all the way out, he looked at his wrists.

Rope marks.

Tsuzuki had them as well, and he clearly took notice. "Oh... No..."

Hisoka looked down, hiding his wrists. "Come on. We've got to keep going. We have gotten farther than the others, let's not waste our time greiving."

They stood, looking around the new room. Water surrounded them as the stood on stone platforms.

"The hell...? This doesn't make sense... the wall broke.. and if it was under ground, wouldn't it have flooded?" Tsuzuki asked, hiding his own wrists.

"If nothing was blocking..." Hisoka trailed off as he noticed large gates. He walked towards them slowly, and Tsuzuki followed close behind.

"Hisoka... Hisoka, what are you doing?"

"I have a feeling my answers lie beyond this door..." He mumbled to himself, reaching out his hand. He pushed hard, finally able to open the door. He felt more burning from his pocket, and he reached down. He pulled his hand up, and he seen the Jewel he had found in his glove when Hijiri died. It glowed in his hand, the heat almost unbearable. He slipped it back in his pocket before Tsuzuki could see it.

He looked inside the room, noticing it's impossible cleanliness. It was as if somebody was still living there.

Could it be possible?

No. It couldn't. Hisoka knew it couldn't. The ghosts here were much to malicious. Unless... maybe there was somebody controlling them... willing them along... He walked further, and, without thinking, yelled, "Mom?"

A woman was crying in the center of the room, covering her face with both hands.

"I'm sorry..." She kept saying, heaving with every sob.

The voice was all too familiar, and Hisoka's eyes filled with tears. "Mom!" He ran closer, ignoring Tsuzuki's warnings.

He dropped next to his mother, able to touch her shoulder. She looked up, her face badly bruised and cut up, but still recognizable.

"K...Kur...Kurosaki... Hisoka!" She screamed out, hugging him and sobbing into his shoulder. "Oh, sweetie.. I'm so sorry..."

"Mom..." Hisoka felt like a child again as she pulled him even closer, his head in her chest. He squeezed her shirt, crying loudly as well.

"Hisoka... I'm very sorry about all of this.. Why did you come back?"

"I.. I wanted to see if it was really you I heard..." He sniffed loudly, pulling out of her arms. "Why did you die here? How?"

"The same way your friend Tatsumi did..." She touched his face softly. "Oh, Hisoka.. You've grown into such a handsome man... I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch you grow..."

"It's alright." The warmth he felt from before wrapped around him again. "Mama... Take me with you..."

"What?" Tsuzuki cried, running closer. "Hisoka, what the hell are you saying!? You can't let everybody else's death be in vain! We ALL have protected you, you can't just ASK to die!"

"You don't understand, Tsuzuki! This is my mother! You had your parents growing up! I didn't! Do you realize how lucky you are?" He turned towards the brunette, crying. "I know you don't want me to die, I understand that, but you also need to understand that I miss mom! I don't want to go on without her anymore! Now that she's here, I won't leave without her!"

"Honey..." His mother whispered, standing. "You have to leave. They will kill you here. They will not do it painlessly, either..."

"Mom..."

"Go. Hurry-" She dissapeared.

"Mom! MOM!" He swiped the air where she once stood, and he fell back to his knees. "She...She was right here... Right here... And...and now she's gone..."

A door opened in front of them, and the two could both see the sun rising up over the trees.

"A way out..." Tsuzuki whispered, smiling. Hisoka looked up at him.

"Go ahead. I'm not leaving."

"What!? Hisoka, come on! She's dead, and I'm sure she's happy watching you survive!"

Hisoka seemed to think about this, and he finally stood. "You're right. I'm being stupid. She wouldn't want me to die.. not like that." He took Tsuzuki's hand, squeezing tightly. They walked towards the door, but Hisoka stopped and turned when a loud slam drew his attention. Tsuzuki also turned, and the door slammed shut, blocking their way out.

"No!" They both yelled, and Tsuzuki growled.

"Dammit, now what!?"

The blind woman appeared in front of them, and Hisoka froze in fear.

"My eyes!" She cried, holding her arms out.

Tsuzuki blinked. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Five men appeared behind her.

They were very familliar.

There stood Watari, Hijiri, Muraki, Oriya, and Tatsumi. Tatsumi looked on with a stare that peirced even Hisoka's heart with fear, a stare he had only seen Tatsumi give to his enemies.

"Ta...Tatsumi-san!" Hisoka whispered. The blind woman jerked her head towards them, and Hisoka slammed his hand over his mouth. "Tsuzuki! Other way!" He pushed Tsuzuki to the left while Hisoka made loud noises against the walls to distract the woman. As he did, he also attempted to open the door.

Locked. From the other side.

"Okay, now who the hell puts a lock on the OUTSIDE of a door!?" Hisoka growled. He seen Tsuzuki running past Watari, who reached out a bloody hand to grab him. Muraki grabbed his shirt, pulling him towards the group.

"HISOKA! HELP!"

Worried that his friend would soon be killed, he ran past the woman, easily avoiding her pathetic attempt to hit him. As he drew closer to the group, the jewel in his pocket got hotter. He pulled it out of his pocket.

He then began to see a whole new environment.

_A young man with black hair and red highlights cut his arm with the jewel, letting the blood fall onto it. It glowed brightly, and ghosts around him screamed, covering their eyes and fading. He looked much like Hisoka himself. _

_"'__**Well... He looked kind of like you, only skinier... and... a bit more evil..."'**_

_As he opened his emerald eyes, he leaned down, grabbing his bag. A little girl appeared behind him as he walked away. _

_**"'I...I seen it too... I didn't want to say anything, I thought that maybe it was just you the way the moon was shining off of your body... I'm sorry, I should have said something. I blame only myself...'"**_

_"The door... Unlock the door with the blood of a virgin... Let us be free-"_

_"Shut up." The boy growled, turning sharply. The blind woman stood behind her, screaming loudly in anger. She ran towards him-_

Hisoka gasped as the air was put back into his lungs.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki sounded gurgled, almost quiet and deathly. Hisoka looked down at his arm, then slammed the Jewel in his arm. He hissed in pain, but the bright glow and screams made him smirk. He almost felt bad for doing this to his old friends, but he ignored it. He doubted they wanted to become what had killed them. He dropped to his knees as soon as the glowing stopped, and he wrapped his hand around his arm.

Tsuzuki lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Scars marked his body, his nose bleeding badly.

Hisoka knew what he had to do. He took Tsuzuki by the hand and helped him up. Tsuzuki silently walked with him, holding his nose and moaning lightly. The dull look in his eyes suggested he was not quite all there.

He looked up at a large door he had not even noticed before. He wondered if he really should do this. The ghosts had lured them there. Should he trust them?

He thought of his mother. Was she included when the little girl in the vision had said, 'Let us be free'? He finally lifted his arm, letting a small drop of blood drop on the lock.

Nothing happened.

"The key..." A voice behind him whispered, and he turned softly. A little girl stood there.

"Key?" Hisoka asked, holding his arm.

"In the box... below the heart..." And she was gone.

He turned back, looking at the door. Biting his lip, he searched. "Box... heart... that doesn't make-BWAH!" He jumped back, dropping Tsuzuki quickly. The brunette was pushed back into reality as he hit the floor.

"Ugh... Hisoka, that hurt."

"Sorry, Tsuzuki, but I'm looking for our ticket out of here, and I think I found it..." He stared at a still-beating heart on a shelf. It was sitting on a metal box. He shuddered. "Aw, man..." He took the heart, picking it up carefully. "Ew...ew...ew..." He put it back on another shelf. He took the box, opened it, and a key was revealed. He took the key carefully and walked back to the door. He put the key in, turning it. A strong blast sent the two boys backward, their bodies falling onto the floor. Hard. They lay still. They could no longer see the world around him. They lay on the ground, still as stone.

Dead.

_**Later that morning...**_

Hisoka opened his eyes carefully, feeling his breath starting again.

Blue orbs were rising from the mansion. Tsuzuki sat next to him, also just awakening.

They were outside.

The spirits were free. The boys could no longer feel malicious ghosts staring at them.

It was over.

Looking at his wrists, Hisoka found that the scars had dissapeared. The ropemarks were gone. Tsuzuki looked down at his own hands, and happiness crossed his face. "We... We're alive... We're alive!" He hugged Hisoka tightly, laughing happily as if he couldn't believe it. Then again, he probably couldn't.

Hisoka himself couldn't believe it. He'd gotten the answers he'd been looking for. He'd found somebody to love. But at a price

His closest friends had died. As he looked up towards the sky, he could hear their words in his mind.

'_It's okay... We died for you. Live your life to the fullest... thank you for everything you've done for us..._

_See you when you pass on...'_

_**As you can see, I changed the ending alittle to give a bit more reason to it. Oh, and by the way, in the vision Hisoka had when he seen the boy that looked just like him, the things that were bold and in italics were words from Watari and Tsuzuki. Yes, the boy he seen in the vision was the same boy they had seen when Tarezuma died.**_

_**I hope you liked this story, and I hope you had fun remembering where you were if you hadn't finished it when I deleted that one and put this one up. XD Sorry if it caused any inconveniances.**_

_**THANKS FOR READING! **_

_**See you in the next story I do! (Maybe...)**_


	2. Questions to be answered

_**I just got a review from someone who had a few questions. They are questions I never really felt the need to answer. Some mysteries, for me, are best left alone. But, I'll answer them for you. So here they are, so that all of you know the answers to them.**_

_**The boy who looks like Hisoka is the first tragedy that had ever occured in the house, the first one that really set alarms off in the community. He was a 16 year old boy who wanted a little fun with his friends, but got much more than that. Having enough, he refused to save the tormented ghosts from the hell they were in, so they refused to let him leave alive.**_

_**Tarezume was grabbed. Simple as that. He was dragged away, and before he even reached the steps up to the top, he passed out. Which is why there was no struggle to be heard. He had been standing BEHIND everyone to begin with, anyway. **_

_**The girl is the blind lady's daughter, of course. She only wants to help who ever is in the house. She's the 'good' entity in a way. **_

_**The blind lady was once the 'lady' of the house. She was supposed to be used as a sacrifice in the dark 'rope ritual'. (Look it up in Fatal Frame, if you don't know what it is. That's what this whole thing is based around)but she fell in love with someone and didn't want to die, so her responsibilities fell apart.**_

_**OKay, this one, I probably should have answered. XD I suppose I forgot about it. Hisoka's mom was in the house because she wanted to help. She had a dream about the boy and thought he was still alive, but the blind lady got to her before she could even find him.**_

_**The jewel is pretty much the only pure thing in the whole fricken house. In the right hands, anyway. It's basically something that was made by the very first owners of the house, made to purify any dark soul who came across it, as long as it was mixed with pure blood. **_**(I know, it doesn't make sense in THIS world, but this is my world. XD)**

_**And 'why a jewel'? No clue. I guess in my mind, it made more sense. XP I was originally just going to give him a key, but that would have been way too easy... XP**_

_**The heart is really a symbol. I was hoping someone would get it, but it's probably a bit too vague... D: The heart on top of the key is supposed to represent the fact that if you look deep enough, you can find the key to happiness and to freedom, granted you are really intent on changing your pace. Sorry 'bout that... D:**_

_**And yes, Hisoka's mother helped him out the first time. Hisoka didn't really think about it way too often. He's the kind of person who doesn't exactly dwell in the past. He was just too happy to be alive. But as he came BACK to the mansion, his memories began to return and his fear of death rose, which tossed him into reflection, and he asked himself the question; Who saved me? In the end of the story, you remember that his mother appeared to him. I thought that one might understand it all at that point, so I didn't really say anything about it. XP Sorry again. Didn't realize I made so many mistakes. O.O**_

_**Hisoka's father died shortly after his mother. He lived with his aunt for awhile until he turned 18, then he got a home for himself. Again, none of that really mattered in the story, so sorry I didn't put it in there. **_


End file.
